Fate's Beginning
by Justasmoljellybean
Summary: The start is never the start. The past will always exist, leaving memories with it; good or bad. The present is what we make it, although you can never change it once it becomes the past. The future is what becomes the present, but there is still use in pondering over it. We stand in the present constantly, or do we?


"No, I don't believe that is an option," I told my companion. "We won't exactly get to choose what happens when we exit, as far as I have been told."

The pigtailed brunette pouted, "darn."

"Now, everyone, take tonight to rest," I turned to the others as I spoke in a stronger voice. "We leave with the sun."

As they all gathered themselves and their materials, I sighed lightly. Tomorrow was it. Tomorrow would change the course of all our lives forever. We had studied, trained, practiced everything necessary, and we were finally ready to leave.

Months prior, Morgan had found an interesting subject inside of a historical text. The book had stated that there was a ritual created by Naga that allowed people found worthy to travel to the past and change the events there. Upon further research from Laurent, this was found to be true information. The only way possible to save our world was to go back and stop the tragic events where they started. I did not fully know where the root of the problem was, being young and sheltered from that sort of information, but I had a strong assumption that something was wrong ever since my aunt had died. So that would be our goal; to make it to that time in history.

A downside to this ritual was that we needed the Emblem. I, personally, had never laid eyes on the ancient shield. Supposedly, it was stolen the same night that my aunt had been killed (a detail that I did not learn until much later in my life). I did know, however, that my father and mother had been trying to get it back from Castle Plegia, which hopefully meant that it was there now.

So that was our destination. The place that had stripped my family and happy childhood away. Admittedly, I was not excited and would rather have been going to hell itself, but it was necessary for our mission. Soon, we would find the truth of what our parents had hidden from us.

As bad of an idea as I knew it was, I could not get the sleep that I needed that night, so I aimlessly walked around the castle. Would this be the last time that I would be able to do this? Would I step foot inside a younger (if you will) version of it? I did not know. In fact, I did not know much about the path ahead.

"L-Lucina?"

I pressed my lips together and slowly turned to look at my little brother. He had already dawned his replica of our mother's coat. His hands were clasped at his stomach, and he appeared quite anxious about speaking to me again. The last time we had spoken to one another, it had not ended on good terms.

"I can't sleep. I'm too nervous…" he said shyly, his gaze falling to the ground.

"You've nothing to be nervous about," I assured him, attempting a friendly tone despite my feelings towards him recently.

"I know, I know, you've got this," he replied sarcastically. "I just… I can't help but feel like we're kinda giving up and leaving everything behind…"

I immediately knew what he meant by this, "Morgan, we've had this discussion already. No matter how long you wait here, none of them are coming back. Mother only said that we would see her again to make us feel better. You're older now and can understand that."

"But what if she's still in Plegia? What if she went back? We could still see her again."

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose.

"And then if we go, then what if Maeg—"

"Morgan, just… go on to bed, please," I interrupted him before he could say the full name. "Do not sleep late."

Part of me felt guilty as I watched him sullenly walk away. He was still quite young, and I knew even at the time that he did not fully understand the situation. But that did not keep me from being annoyed that he wouldn't shut up about the same things. He was always insistent on staying where we were, in hopes that everyone we had lost would come back. Every time we had spoken, it had turned into an argument about the subject. The saddest part of this was that I did not think of him so much as a brother anymore—more of just a comrade.

The night remained sleepless for me, and the morning came faster than I would have preferred. Now it was the day that all thirteen of our lives would change forever.

I made my way down to our meeting place right before the sun began to rise. Most of the garrison and training areas had been destroyed with about a year ago, meaning we never met there. Instead, we had a spot in the east yard where we had always gathered, even as young children. Unsurprisingly, several of them were already waiting for me—dressed and ready to go.

All clad in their hero outfits, we looked as if we were not just children. In reality, we weren't anymore. We were doing what adults do—taking what we have, no matter what it is, and working with it. We were leaving on our own to save our world, without any guidance or aid.

"Lucina. A moment, if you will," said Gerome, motioning for me to follow him as soon as I was nearby.

Confused, I went with him until we stopped far from the others' views. There had hardly even been any "good mornings" at that time, so this seemed oddly urgent. A silence came over the both of us.

He wordlessly held out a brilliantly shining piece of silver. Upon closer observation, it was actually made of tin, but the beautiful shine made it seem authentic. The metal shaped perfectly into a butterfly shape. The center had six slits cut into it, giving me the assumption that it was a mask, similar to the one that my friend wore with his outfit. "…It's a gift. Use it to keep your eye hidden," he explained briefly, as usual.

"It's beautiful… thank you," I cautiously took it and ran my fingers over the delicate metal. "But… why a butterfly?"

"That was what your mother called you, was it not?"

My lips tightened as I now solemnly looked over the piece. I felt an odd amount of resentment towards my mother. She had said that I would see her again, as Morgan often insisted, but she never came back. She had left me. I knew that it might not have been her fault, and that there could have been more to her excuse than I knew, but I wanted my mother back, and she had lied to me.

"Thank you, Gerome, truly. It's beautiful," I repeated to him, trying to keep my feelings on the matter tucked away. I put the mask on right away. It was difficult to see through, but I assumed that it was something to get used to.

Returning to the others, I found that most of our group had gathered—all except one.

"Where is Morgan?" Severa asked, crossing her arms. She had taken the name of the ancient swordswoman Selena, although her clothes had not changed much. A disguise was necessary for us, but the outfit was not as important as our name, as long as we landed in the correct time. We couldn't risk influencing our parents' choices by revealing our identities. "Why does he always seem to make us late for these things?"

"I will find him," Nah volunteered and then briskly walked away.

"Why didn't he just come with you, Lu?" Kjelle asked me.

I bit my lip. Some of my closest friends knew about my brother and I's relationship lately, but not all of them did. Clearly, Kjelle did not, and I couldn't blame her for asking.

"I fear that the two's relationship may have taken a major dive in the passing months… But it's fine. They'll work it out, I'm sure," Owain covered for me in a surprisingly normal tone.

I gave him a weak smile of gratitude.

We all waited for another silent few minutes before Nah came back with my brother. Morgan did not say anything, and he averted his gaze from me.

"Morgan, I—" I started to speak up, but I was interrupted.

"Lucina, we need to go. We do not have time for these matters," Gerome said to me, carrying a slight amount of irate in his voice. He had always been my voice of reason, and it was rare that he was wrong.

I swallowed hard and nodded. "Right. Now that we are all here, we must go. Morgan, I trust that you still have our route planned for us?"

My brother still avoided eye contact with me, but he nodded and began to go through the plan once more for everyone. If all went well, we would be arriving within the week. Normally for our parents, it would take at least two weeks to get to Plegia, but in light of recent events and attacks, most of the natural obstacles along the way were now gone.

"Does everyone understand?" I asked once Morgan had finished.

"Yes… b-but I want to say something first," Noire spoke up in her usual shaky way. "If something goes wrong, and this doesn't work, I j-just want you guys to know that I th-think you're the b-best."

"Yeah! Thanks for making it this far with me!" Yarne agreed.

As everyone else added their opinions in a positive way, I smiled. We had all come so far from just being little children. All of us had grown up together, giving us all a tight bond with one another that I knew would carry us onward. When they all seemed to be done with their praise towards each other, I stood and said, "Now, let's do what our parents couldn't."

Everyone nodded, slightly more solemnly, and we progressed towards our destination. We hadn't hardly left the castle grounds when I noticed that Morgan had left his tome on the ground several meters behind. I called to him, and he swiftly came to get it.

"I'm sorry…" he murmured with his head hanging, not looking me in the eye. Nah came over and took his hand to help him catch up with the others. As much as I hated the thought, I had considered leaving him behind in Ylisstol. He was only seven years old, his endurance was not great, and he was not as fast as the rest of us. By all physical means, I should have left him. But…. he was still my brother. I had already lost my entire family, save for him and Owain, and I was not ready to leave another to his potential death. In the end, I convinced myself that I needed his tactical brain anyway. I knew that my father was always better off when he had my mother with him, and it would likely be the same for me.

Realizing that I had fallen behind, I ran to get to the front of the group. My brother, who stood there as well, had his tome clutched to his chest and his hood over his head. Although all I could see was the bottom of his face, I saw when a thin tear dripped from his chin.

"Morgan, what's the matter?" I asked him, resuming a normal older sister voice.

"Nothing…" he replied quietly, then he swallowed hard and began to walk faster.

I didn't try to catch up with him, lingering back slightly. Trying to make up with him at this point would be worthless. Everything that had happened to us recently had taken their toll on our relationship, and it wasn't over yet. I did not know what laid ahead for us, but I did know that it would not be easy, whether physically or emotionally. Our relationship would have to become a lower priority, since saving our world was now my first matter of business. Maybe, I thought, someday we could be what we used to be—simply brother and sister.


End file.
